Judicial Magistrate to take call on arms dump, says SP Prakash Meena

The squad comprising eight members examined the site with requisite equipment and ensured that the ammunition did not explode. The inspection lasted about two hours at the village since 10 am, sources said. 

Speaking to DTNext, Superintendent of Police Om Prakash Meena said over 10,000 live rounds of medium and high machine guns and also an SLR gun, 200 packets of trinitrotoluene slabs, which are highly explosive and often used for demolishing concrete structures, eight bundles of detonator cables, grenades and land mines were unearthed after digging the spot from around 5.30 pm to 10 pm on Monday. 

Om Prakash Meena said the ammunition would be produced before the Judicial Magistrate and based on the court’s directive, further action would be taken. 

While digging the ground for constructing a septic tank, Edison, a fisherman, had found arms and ammunition, including grenades and tank shells, which seemed to have been dumped about 25 years ago by the cadre of the LTTE, which is banned by the government. 

Since Rameswaram was located strategically close to Sri Lanka, the outfit had used the temple town as a safe spot to hide such ammunition underground. Initially, the site was dug up manually and later an earthmover was engaged for digging to a depth of 12 ft. The unearthed bullets, which had been taken out from rusty boxes, were in good condition. 

While the ammunition has been kept in the district Armed Police arsenal, explosive materials have been left where they were found. Armed guards have been maintaining a strict vigil to prevent anyone from approaching the site. 

Weapons and ammunition were unearthed in 1990 in Mandapam, another coastal village in Ramanathapuram district, and it was more than that found in Thangachimadam, the SP recalled.